TURKEY, — During the holy month of Ramadan, the Turkish warplanes and police have killed at least 8 civilian Kurds and arrested 389 while the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke of “reverence” for the holy month Ramadan which has on the contrary witnessed a bloody loss.
Warplanes continuously bombed the guerrilla areas and villages, while on an average of 12 persons were detained per day during the Ramadan month.
In a speech on August 14, Erdogan said that the turning point of peace would be very different after the end of the peaceful Ramadan month during which he added that they are showing patience.
However, the bombardment of the Turkish army on guerrilla areas, starting in the middle of the holy month, still continues in Qendil, Xakurke, Xinere, Metina, Zap, Haftanin, Garê and Zagros regions where civilians primarily come to harm in hundreds of villages.
SEVEN CIVILIANS KILLED
During the bombardment in Qendil on August 21, Turkish warplanes targeted civilians in Kortek village of Ranya district, killing seven people included two women and four children, one of them yet six-months old. Further, hundreds of people had to leave their homes as their properties and lands were burnt down and two cemeteries of guerrillas were targeted and destroyed by the warplanes. On the other hand, three guerrillas have been reported dead as a result of the attacks since August 17.
BDP COUNCILLOR KILLED AFTER ERDOGAN’S THREATS
The act of human shields starting in 16 cities on 27 August to stop the cross-border attacks encountered the bloody attack of state forces at the border. BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) Van Councillor Yıldırım Ayhan was shot and lost his life on August 28 by the fire opened by government forces, which came soon after Erdogan’s threat to make “they pay the price”. On August 14, Erdogan uttered threats that those who don’t put some distance between the terror organizations would pay the price, no matter what it would cost.
The Turkish army did not stop its operations during the Ramadan feast and bombed the guerrilla-controlled Haftanin region.
389 DETENTIONS, 79 ARRESTS
On the other hand, Turkish police applied a detention terror during the Ramadan month, taking at least 230 Kurds into custody most of whom were children. While the number of detainees was at least 159 from August 16 to 31, 79 were arrested among the 389 people detained during the last one month. The figures of detentions were formed basing on the news reflecting to ANF and DIHA and the real figure is estimated to be higher.